8Bitdo’s latest mechanical keyboard follows the design of 1980s computers and features one of the most iconic-looking keyboards ever: the Commodore 64. The Commodore 64 version of 8Bitdo’s retro mechanical keyboard series is now available for pre-order, priced at $109.99, and is scheduled to ship on May 26.
Underneath its nice thick brown keycaps (ABS plastic with a two-color legend) and Commodore-style rainbow logo, this is essentially the same peripheral as 8BitDo’s previous NES keyboards. It comes standard with Kailh Box White V2 switches, but they can be hot-swapped if you want to replace them with less-sounding ones. It can connect to devices via USB, Bluetooth, or a 2.4GHz USB adapter; there’s also a built-in volume knob in the upper left corner of the keyboard.
Programmable “Charms” are back on the NES keyboard, and they still look like the A and B buttons of the Nintendo Entertainment System controller. This time, they’ve included a little joystick called the “Super Joystick.” If this keyboard is built the same as the last one, expect both accessories to be wired and plug into the top of the keyboard via a 3.5mm jack. The entire keyboard adopts a keyless shape, omitting the numeric keypad, but otherwise maintains a relatively traditional layout, and there is no RGB lighting to speak of.
Interestingly, while the original Commodore 64 had a chunky appearance that I usually associate with rattling mechanical keyboards, it actually came with Mitsumi hybrid switches, which were a hybrid of rubber domes and mechanical switches . If you want a closer look at the innards of the original keyboard, retro keyboard YouTuber Chyrosran22 has reviewed the Commodore 64C (a variant of the Commodore 64 with a lighter color scheme).